3 Tips and Tools To Get Started Shifting Your Embodied Business Online

3 Tips and Tools To Get Started Shifting Your Embodied Business Online

by | Apr 1, 2020 | Uncategorized

As body centered practitioners, coaches and healers, our foundation is built on connecting to our clients through our own presence in our bodies, through movement, touch, and in person verbal guidance. Working virtually with clients can limit some of these modes of connecting, but also expand a new layer of value that you can offer AND a new income stream that you can add to your business.  

 

Shifting into the online space with your expertise can offer many benefits:

  • Location Freedom and Overhead Freedom
  • Leveraged Time Freedom
  • Breaking Out of the dollars/hr model
  • Expanded Market – your market is the whole world
  • Opportunity for passive income
  • Provide a new revenue stream to your in person Services

Experimenting with going virtual with clients can start simply by learning how to use some of the basic technology and expirimenting with new ways to evolve your teaching and expertise in a virtual setting.  I like to think of it as a creative experiment and I have three tips to get you started.

Top 3 Tips To Get Started Working Online With Clients

 

1) Create a new level of value and connection with your expertise.

Body Centered Practitioners often build thier relationships with thier clients on the foundational value of in person contact. However, many aspects of how you connect in person with a client can be utilized online-  your knowledge, verbal cuing, and your visual and kinesthetic awareness.  If you want to shift from seeing your clients in person to virtually,  you will want to explore new ways to connect with your client. This may look like using your visual and verbal cuing to help your client deepen how they are doing a movement or creating a series of videos that you can use to help them deepen their knowledge on a specific topic outside of your in person sessions.

 

2) Experiment with your current clients

Experiment with your virtual delivery with your current clients to get comfortable with the technology and start to see what new ways you could share your expertise. Make sure you are clear how the new delivery will help them meet a new goal or solve a new problem. 

 

3) Evolve and Grow your model

As you experiment with working virtually with your clients and start seeing results, you can use this new delivery method to evolve you expertise and your new offer online and start to scale and grow your business.  Using virtual tools can not only explode your market but also give you a new way to leverage your expertise by developing content and tools to deliver your expertise outside of your one on one time.

So what tools do you need to use to get started?

My top two are:

Zoom

Acuity

To get started exploring a virtual framework with your clients, download my free expanded tool guide…and join my community to get started creating a new online level of your business.

All the best,

Dawn

 

Psoas Release

Psoas Release

by | Feb 20, 2020 | Back Pain, Embodied Wellness, Embodiment, Restorative Exercise

Hey everyone, it’s Dawn!

And today I want to talk about the Psoas and what you can do to release and balance it. The Psoas is essentially a hip flexor and a postural stabilizer.  Often clients will come in with a sense of tightness through their hips and hamstrings.  And I will usually do some exercises to release their hip flexors and psoas before we get moving to see if it improves how they feel in their bodies. relieves the tightness they are feeling.  “Tight” hip flexors and/or psoas can come from too much sitting, driving or activities that come from loading into a flexed position in your hips and spine.  And the psoas muscle is also affected by too much stress which can put you into a chronic sympathetic state in your nervous system (fight of flight mode).

Check out the video below for a simple exercise you can use to release your hip flexors and Psoas. (These exercises are subject to our website Terms and Conditions)

 

 So one of the really simple exercises that you can do to help open up that area, create some muscular relief and also help to deepen your breathing, is to lie down on your back and use a little yoga block under your pelvis to elevate it slightly. And you are going to let your pelvis release into the block and then extend one leg and let that create a little opening through the front of the hip.  You will fee a stretch through the front of your hip when you do this.  

Then just bring your awareness to your breathing and take a couple deep breaths with that one leg extended to deepen this experience. And then just bring one leg back up and then you’ll extend the other leg and take a couple of deep breaths. And you could do this multiple times, whatever you feel like you need. And I’d also suggest when you come back up, really try to kind of push the heel into the ground a little bit and engage with the back of your leg a little more to come back up. After you are done alternating legs, you can take the block out and just come back to just some simple breathing on your back. And just notice if you feel any difference in how you feel in your hips and back. 

And I would just check in and standing as well and just see if you feel more upright and more open through the front of your hips.  So this is just a great exercise to do at the end of the day to reset and come back to your breathing  if you’ve been spending your day sitting at a desk, in the car, dealing with just the stresses of day to day and you want to bring your body into a state of rest and relaxation and release.

 

All the best,

Dawn

 

5 Steps To Become A Gyrotonic Instructor In One Year

5 Steps To Become A Gyrotonic Instructor In One Year

by | Jun 1, 2019 | Business Planning, courses, Embodied Wellness, Embodiment, Gyrotonic Movement, Gyrotonic Teacher Training

Are you a health and wellness coach, movement practitioner or therapist who is looking for a new approach to holistic movement with your clients?

Gyrotonic training attracts people from all walks of life. I have had dancers who want to share their love of movement, elementary school teachers, professionals in other careers that want to make a career change and instructors from other modalities like Pilates, yoga, physical therapy and massage therapy that want to expand their skill range and people who just want to go through the training for their own personal development or to have equipment in their home and to work with family and friends!

If you LOVE movement, and enjoy helping others to understand how their bodies move and how to move to their fullest capacity, feel good in their bodies and in their lives, then becoming a Gyrotonic Instructor may be a great fit for you.  In this blog post, I am going to give you the simple 5 step process to become a Gyrotonic Instructor and tell you how you can get started.

To get started, before you even enter the teacher training process, you will need to have a minimum of ten sessions with a certified instructor to familiarize yourself with the introductory material and to prepare your body for the training. This will also give you the opportunity to get a good feel for the system and make sure that it is right for you!

So, what is so unique about the Gyrotonic Method?

The GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® is made up of two methods, the GYROTONIC® Method and the GYROKINESIS® Method. This blog post will focus on the Level 1 Gyrotonic Method Training. The Gyrotonic Method is a holistic system of movement that can meet a variety of health and wellness goals to help you move without pain, develop flexible strength with minimal impact to your body and cross-train for specific sports like Golf, Tennis or Dance.

Exercises are based in three -dimensional movements that help you to align and strengthen your core and move your body as a whole with fluid, flexible strength. Movements integrate breathing principles, mobilize and decompress the spine and joints and work all the major muscle groups synergistically for a full body workout.

The Gyrotonic Method is an apparatus-based method that utilize a unique pulley tower system that offers supportive resistance to the body in all ranges of motion. The level one teacher training process is taught on the pulley tower system. Other specialized equipment like the Jumping Stretching Board, Leg Extension Unit and the Ladder, offer a variety of exercises for developing strength, flexibility, balance and coordination through fluid movement and are available as advanced training courses for Gyrotonic Level 1 Certified Instructors.

My personal practice with Gyrotonic has evolved as a Movement Therapist to working primarily with clients who are transitioning from Physical Therapy and need specific exercise modifications to help them create a new approach to movement. I bring my expertise and experience from working in a physical therapy clinic and as a movement therapist and somatic coach for 15 years to help my students empower their clients to use the Gyrotonic Method to connect to their bodies and find their home in movement.  As a Master Trainer, I teach the first three courses in the Gyrotonic Teacher Training Process.

 

The Gyrotonic Level 1 Teacher Training Process

The Gyrotonic Teacher training process is a combination of four courses that usually take from 9-12 months to complete. All courses must be completed with certified Gyrotonic Pre-Trainers or Master Trainers. You make take each course with a different instructor or all courses with one instructor.

Introductory Sessions

As I mentioned earlier, the first step in the Teacher Training process is to have ten introductory sessions with a certified Gyrotonic Instructor to familiarize yourself with the work and prepare your body for the training. The training is intensive and demanding and you will want to be familiar with the movement before you begin.

 

The Gyrotonic Pre-Training

The first course in the Gyrotonic Teacher Training program. In the Gyrotonic Pre-Training you will learn the fundamental exercises of the Gyrotonic Level One Foundation Course with a focus on individual execution of the movements and understanding of the principles. At the end of the pre-training you will be able to put together a full Gyrotonic workout to lead your self- practice routines. The Gyrotonic Pre-training is a 6 day/30-hour course that can be broken up into two, three-day segments. The pre-training is taught by Dawn Strom or another certified Pre-Trainer.  After you complete the pre-training you will have three months to enroll in and begin the next course, the Level 1 Foundation Training.

 

Level 1 Foundation Training

In the Gyrotonic Level 1 Foundation Course you will learn how to teach fundamental exercises of the Gyrotonic Level One Foundation Course. This course will focus on deepening your understanding and communication of Gyrotonic principles as well as introducing teaching tools and cueing. Upon completion of your Gyrotonic Foundation Course you will be able to teach an introductory session to a new client. You will then enter your Apprenticeship period where you will practice progressing clients through the level one material as well as continue to develop you own integration of the material through self- practice. The Foundation Course is taught by a Master Trainer and is a 12 day/60-hour course that can be broken up into three four-day weekend segments. After you complete and pass the Foundation course, you can continue into your apprentice period.

 

Apprentice Review

After you complete your Foundation Training you will have a 6-12-month apprenticeship period where you will teach a total of 60 sessions, 30 of which must be completed before your apprentice review course.

Once you have completed 30 sessions you will sign up for a 6-day/ 30 hour Apprentice Review Course with Dawn Strom or another licensed Master Trainer. During this time, you will review material and learn any material that was not covered in the foundation training. You will have time to ask questions about your teaching practice. After finishing your apprentice review, you will complete the remaining 30 hours of teaching and then you will go on to your final certification offered at a variety of locations in the USA and in Europe.

 

Certification

After you have passed your apprentice review and completed your hours, you may sign up for your Certification offered through Gyrotonic Headquarter at a variety of locations in the US and Europe. This is a three day course. And upon completion of the course you will be a licensed Gyrotonic Trainer.

 

Cost of Training

The cost of the Gyrotonic Teacher Training process is divided into a combination of course fees and studio fees.

  • The course fees are determined through Gyrotonic Headquarters and are the same regardless of which Master Trainer you work
  • The Studio where you take your course will also have a fee that will cover the costs of using the studio space and may also apply for travel costs of the Master Trainer teaching the course. Studio fees will vary based on
  • You should check with the individual studio hosting the course for a complete list of fees. For a complete list of general course fees click HERE.

 

Continuing Education

Once you are a Licensed Gyrotonic Trainer, you will need to complete continuing education requirements every two years and pay a licensing fee to renew your license. For more information on continuing education requirements, click here.

 

How To Get Started

So now that you know a little more about The Gyrotonic Teacher Training Process, you may be wondering whether it is a good fit for you? If you are interested in joining one of my level 1 foundation trainings, click HERE to schedule a discovery session. I would love to talk with you in person and help give you the information that you need to make the best decision for your career.

To see a list of our current scheduled courses, click HERE . Please let me know if you have any questions!

I hope to see you in one of my courses!

All the best,

Dawn

GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Specialized Master Trainer

Expand Your Wellness Business with Gyrotonic Teacher Training

Expand Your Wellness Business with Gyrotonic Teacher Training

by | May 22, 2019 | Gyrotonic Movement, Gyrotonic Teacher Training

Are you a body centered therapist (massage, movement, physical, occupational) and are looking for a new approach and tool set to work with your clients on their range of motion, flexibility, strength and coordination?

Do you wish you could set aside some time to work on your own body and deepen your own practice?

The GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® offers a unique approach to movement that can help you to deepen your own movement practice and expand your mindset, skillset and community as a wellness practitioner.

The Gyrotonic movement method is unique approach to movement that addresses the entire body, opening energy pathways, stimulating the nervous system, increasing range of motion and creating functional strength. Gyrotonic exercise sequences are composed of spiraling, circular movements which flows together seamlessly in rhythmic repetitions with corresponding breath patterns. Each movement flows into the next allowing the joints to move through a natural range of motion without jarring or compression. These carefully crafted sequences create balance, efficiency, strength and flexibility in the mind and body. 

 

Adding Gyrotonic Movement to your toolkit through Certification in the Gyrotonic Method can give you a new paradigm to approach your practice in 3 main ways:

1. Expand your mindset- Each movement method offers it’s own approach to the body. And the Gyrotonic System is unique in its holistic, somatic and experiencial approach. The approach is based in a somatic orientation, focusing on the experience of movement and “getting connected to your body”.  Through your training, you will step into your body in a new way and learn how to guide your clients with new eyes into their own embodied experience.  a holistic movement system and focuses on the experience of whole body movement.

2. Expand your skillset and toolbox- The Gyrotonic Level One training encompasses over sixty new exercises for you to explore with your clients that, together, work the body in an integrated way to create greater strength, flexibility and range of motion.  In addition, the specially designed equipment offers a unique and effective approach to support range of motion and functional strength than any other system out there.

3. Expanding your community- The Gyrotonic community of practitioners to connect with, learn from and dialogue with. As a certified practitioner you participate in continuing eduction every two years which offers regular, in person opportunities to share ideas, expand your knowledge and update your skills. As a Certified Instructor, you are also invited to join several facebook groups where you can connect with other instructors, share ideas, learn more about the method and stay connected an inspired.

So if you are ready to grow your Wellness Business by expanding your mindset, skillset and community, the Gyrotonic Method may be a perfect fit!

Grab my FREE Guide to the Gyrotonic Teacher Training Process HERE.  Or schedule a Teacher Training Consult if you want to talk in person about how Gyrotonic Teacher Training can help you reach your goals!

All the best,

Dawn

Gyrotonic Master Trainer

Develop your posture to relieve tension from sitting

Develop your posture to relieve tension from sitting

by | Feb 24, 2019 | Back Pain, Coaching, Movement Therapy, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain

Hi everyone!

It’s Dawn Strom and today I want to talk a little bit about how your Gyrotonic training can help you work on your posture on a day-to-day basis.

Most of us spend a lot of time during the day sitting, and what can tend to happen is, if you’re sitting in a position that’s really misaligned, or you’re slumping, or you’re holding your shoulders and tightening your shoulders, you can create some different tension patterns that evolve over time, and that can cause back pain, shoulder and neck pain, and leave you feeling really awful by the end of your day.

So one simple thing that we work on in the beginning of your Gyrotonic training is how to use your grounding down into your feet to help support and strengthen the uprightness of your spine. And this is a simple tool that you can use all day long, whether you’re driving in the car or sitting at your desk.

So the basic exercise I want to teach you to work on will help you ground into your feet to help you create better posture. Firs we will  start in a seated position, and then you can apply it to standing as well. So get in a chair where you can sit on the edge of your chair and have your feet comfortably on the floor.

And I want you to think about making sure, in this position, that your toes are a little bit in front of your knees so you can gently press down and ground into your feet and get a little traction into the floor.

And then before we start with how to connect your feet into the floor to help stabilize your spine, I want you to just make sure your spine is in alignment. So this is a little check-in you can do with yourself to check in on the alignment of your spine.

You can close your eyes to do this, or keep them open, whatever works for you. I just want you to go ahead and drop into how your body feels and is organized in space with your inner eye.  And just notice if your pelvis is tipping forward or tipping back, or if it’s just in a nice upright alignment. You want to bring that pelvis into a nice, upright alignment and then you want to make sure that your rib cage is just easily balancing over your pelvis, and your head is in an easy balance over the top of your spine.

Just practice that little check-in on a daily basis. Start from the base and work your way up, making sure you’re aligned from the pelvis all the way through the top of your head. And when that feels good, just go ahead and just add a little grounding into your feel

I want you to reach down through your feet and give a little pressure into your feet and you’ll feel that feedback all the way up into your hips, and it’ll give you a little sense of lift and length from the base of your spine up.

It’s a really simple action that can just help to take that upright spine and just strengthen it and give you a little support from your base.

This is something that you can practice sitting on the bleachers at your kids’ game, or you can practice it in the car. If you’re driving your car make sure you’re grounding through your feet, and keeping your spine lengthened and upright.

Even if you’re standing, you can practice grounding down into your feet to really strengthen and lengthen that upright spine.

This is something that we teach in the beginning of your Gyrotonic training, and it’s fundamental to how Gyrotonic training helps to really strengthen your postural muscles and help you to create length and space in your spine. So if you want to learn mover about the benefits of Gyrotonic Movement for your posture, download our FREE Guide to the 7 Reasons to Love Gyrotonic.

Let me know in the comments section what you think, and take care for now!

Take Care,

Dawn